Give me a sign

I scream / you scream, dyptych 2x 100x150 cm, 2017

Brigade, 2xdiptych 1,5m, acrylic on canvas, 2017

Diptych, diptych 2x 1x1m, acrylic on canvas, 2017

In the exhibition “Give Me a Sign” the artist Dusa Jesih shows her newest works to the public. They are a continuation of her distinct geometric painting which has been refined into minimalist imagery and simple symbols. The radically stylised motifs of her latest works re-establish a universal visual language in all its ambiguity without clearly determined meanings.

A dictionary tells us that the term sign stands for an agreed upon image displaying a certain meaning. Dusa Jesih follows this concept almost literally, because in her latest painting cycle she focuses on simple graphic signs which have a direct and effective in influence on the viewer’s perception. Her works remind us of universal symbols, which as a part of agreed proto- cols, regulations and conventions became a feature of our everyday lives in the form of traffic signs, map indicators etc. Global society has been compelled to create a universal visual language which can surmount linguistic and cultural barriers. With regard to the profusion of visual messages in our public, physical and virtual world the artist rejects the explicit and unambiguous delivery of messages as is the practice of the mass media and the popular culture. Instead she embraces a radical stylisation of the image.

The paintings of Dusa Jesih are the ultimate response to our visual culture which is subject to the flashy and aggressive influences of untamed entrepreneurship. This is why her paintings allude to trademark logos or ideological symbols of frenetic consumerism. However, the artist builds her unique visual narrative through the spirit of minimalism and geometry. These mathematically precise paintings are a reflection of life in the age of machines and digital media which are much more accurate in depicting and multiplying images than a human hand. At the same time they also reflect the absurdity of her own artistic gesture; she creates her images with the help of a computer programme and then hand- copies them onto the canvas. With their amorphous texture and ensuing precision these paintings defy graphic uniformity. Therefore, we can truly experience them only through a direct contact. (Miha Colner)